Around the District

Posted: Wednesday, January 31, 2001

Mass Choir Festival coming to Kenai

The annual Kenai Peninsula Borough School District High School Mass Choir Festival will be Tuesday in the Kenai Central High School Auditorium. It features individual performances by the Homer, Soldotna, Nikiski, Seward, Skyview and Kenai Central high school concert choirs.

The individual performances will be followed by Dr. Jonathan Hirsh of Smith College of Northampton, Mass., who will conduct the mass choir. Performance time this year is at 6:30 p.m.

Admission is free and the public is invited.

Book teams compete for district titles

Competitions in the annual Battle of the Books reading contest are next week. Students read selected books beforehand and answer complex questions about their contents.

This year about 400 Kenai Peninsula students in kindergarten through 12th grade are involved. Those in kindergarten through grade two read in a noncompetitive program; other grades compete in four age-based categories.

The borough contest begins Monday and continues through Feb. 9. Each team stays at its own school and communicates with others over phone lines.

The district champs in each category will advance to state competition, which will be Feb. 20-23. Battle of the Books is sponsored by the Alaska Association of School Librarians.

Boys and Girls Clubs plan activities

The Boys and Girls Clubs of the Kenai Peninsula have several activities coming up at the Kenai branch, headquartered in the old Kenai Elementary School next to the Kenai Spur Highway.

Friday is the last day to sign up for the Kenai Peninsula Winter Games Three-on-Three Youth Basketball Tournament. The tournament will be from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Feb. 10. Boys and girls ages 14 to 16 are eligible.

Auditions for two winter youth dramas will be held Monday and Tuesday for actors ages 5 to 18. The plays will be "Pinocchio and the Fire Eater" and "In One Basket."

Feb. 7 the club will help celebrate Women in Sports Day. From 4:30 to 6 p.m. there will be speakers, demonstrations and activities for all ages.

Indoor soccer registration will run from noon to 6 p.m. Feb. 7 to 9. It is open to 4-year-olds through fifth-graders.

The third- and fourth-grade basketball jamboree will be Feb. 10.

For more information about these events, call Kim Lee at 283-2682.

Seward hosts marine science contest

It's National Ocean Sciences Bowl time again, and Seward is hosting the state high school competition.

Three Kenai Peninsula teams, representing Seward, Ninilchik and Skyview high schools are scheduled to compete. The top team from the state will advance, winning scholarships and a free trip to Florida in April for the national competition.

The event is spread over three days this year from Friday through Sunday. It starts at 8 a.m. Friday with the oral presentations of projects at the K.M. Rae Building at 125 Third Ave. The NOSB art show reception is from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Alaska SeaLife Center.

Cmdr. James Olson from the San Diego Office of the Oceanographer of the Navy's Meteorology Department will give a presentation Saturday afternoon on ocean science careers in the Navy. Sydney Mitchell, from the Office of the Governor Division of Governmental Coordination Alaska Coastal Management Program, will bring some of her people to have the students play a game about coastal zone management issues.

The question-and-answer sessions will be split between Saturday and Sunday mornings at Seward High School. Guest presenters will be at the Rae Building.

The NOSB is sponsored by the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and Education in partnership with the National Marine Educators Association. The Alaska regional competition is sponsored by the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, with additional support from the Alaska Sea Grant College Program.

For more information, visit www.uaf.edu/seagrant/nosb/.

School board meets Monday

The Kenai Peninsula Borough School District's Board of Education meets Monday at 7:30 p.m. in the Borough Building in Soldotna. All school board meetings are open to the public.

Agendas are available at the meeting or at the district's Web site at www.kpbsd.k12.ak.us.

Snowmachining class planned for kids

Kenai Peninsula Safe Kids children's snowmachining safety class will be Saturday at Soldotna Middle School. Students ages 4 to 8 will meet from 9 a.m. to noon, and students ages 9 to 14 will meet from 1 to 4 p.m.

The course takes one hour, and you may come any time during the three-hour period. This is not designed for children under the age of 4 or over 14. After the class, children may purchase a full-face, helmet for $20 that's been approved by the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities.

The Teacher Aide of the Month is Alecia Baxter, and the Teacher of the Month is Paul Zobeck. Staffer of the Month is Carol Kier, the head secretary. The Rotary Student of the Month is Amy Lambe. Chamber Student of the Month is Katie Kier.

They will be recognized at a luncheon Feb. 15

After the Bell

The members of the Redoubt Club have created artistic pieces in Native Alaskan styles, including Aleut, Eskimo, Athabaskan and Northwest Coast Indian. Their creations will be on display for "Our First Ever Alaskan Art Show" in the Redoubt Elementary library Monday. The show is an open house from 5 to 6 p.m. for anyone to drop in and enjoy the creativity and history.

Redoubt students can view the artwork in the library throughout the week. The school gives special thanks to guest artists Lisa Kent and Laurine Maxwell-Evans.

To have information published in Schools, please send a description of the event or accomplishment to Shana Loshbaugh at P.O. Box 3009, Kenai, AK 99611. Information will be accepted by e-mail at clarion@alaska.net or by fax at 283-3299.

The deadline for submission is Thursday at 5 p.m. for publication in the following Wednesday's paper. For information, contact Shana Loshbaugh at 283-7551.